Just completed dive # 7 - 11 in Maui! Thanks to all the "pros" on this site for the wealth of information I obtain prior to any of my vacations over the last few years. Time for me to give back.
As a vacation diver, I stuck with snorkelling for many years, and only 3 years ago took the plunge with a Discover Diving session in Perhentian, Malaysia; followed by a SCUBA certification in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. My last dives were in Oahu with Reef Pirates, in 2011. I dive with my son, who started at the same time with me, but got an OWD cert in the cold waters off Vancouver, BC.
We wanted to ease ourselves back into our first few dives - so chose to do shore dives with their gradual, controlled depths. Through this forum, we selected Shaka Divers. Our first dive was 5 Graves. What a shocker! It was fantastic! I never imagined a shore dive would provide such geographic diversity. And we saw the eels, were surrounded again and again by turtles, and warily eyed the 5 ft white-tips in the caves that Shaka Doug led us to. Our second dive that day was around the corner at Makena Landing. Almost as good, with the added benefit of easy access into and out of the water. In both locations, visibility was at least 50ft once we got out..... maybe it was more! But what I enjoyed most was hovering through and over the tall lava and reef structures, staying 30-40 ft down. Both dives went just over the hour each. Doug was a superb guide. He took his time to assimilate us into the surroundings, explain every step and action, and do this all with patience, no attitude, and with a fun-loving demeanour. He was in no rush to end his work day - guess he exudes the true Maui spirit.
Our next set of dives was the boat dives to Molikini. We selected B&B Scuba, again, through referrals and reviews on this forum and other sites. The 5.45am meeting time was not so bad, considering timezone differentials and we weren't quite on HST yet. The boat was full, and there were 4 B&B'ers leading us. The boat was divided into three groups, and we were placed, quite rightly, in the "novice" party - 4 in group. Everything was well organized and laid out in the boat. A constant 1-liner banter between the crew kept us all chuckling as we headed out. Seemed like my son and I were the only B&B 1st timers as everyone else were repeats or on multi-day trips. We did feel a little awkward being the outsiders - but that may also be because we were spoilt with the personal attention we got the previous day with Shaka Divers and Doug. Diving in for the first time at Reefs End, one is struck by the water clarity - so much so that I'm sure I had an attack of VERTIGO!! As we descended to 40 ft, it was hard to imagine one was underwater. It took me about 5 minutes to establish a controlled breathing pattern with these unique visual and mental experiences bombarding my senses. We glided around that depth for about 45 min. Where we were, it was geographically flat, with a rather featureless seabed. I was surprised at the lack of sealife. We did see a resident 4 ft barracuda, but that was about all. The visibility... possibly 150-200 ft (basically, think swimming pool) was the feature. Our ascent involved a 3min. rest stop at 15ft. I know it may not be necessary for the depth/time we were at.... but good on you B&B for these best practices!! The second dive was off the coast near Makena Bay. I didn't catch exactly where. Visibility was not as good as the shore dives of the previous day - or maybe I was spoilt with 150-200ft !! The dive was unexceptional, but a decent one nonetheless, to wind off the session. B&B provided comfort snacks, drinks, and we sped back to the Kihei Landing. We were back by 9.30am ! Wow!
Day Three. We had considered our previous dives, and agreed that it was the shore dives that provided the most diverse experiences. We hadn't expected that. So it was back to Shaka Divers - and hurrah - Doug was able to take us on. This time it was to "White Rock". Easy, sandy access as we slipped under water amongst the swimmers and followed Doug out. I thought 5 Graves was great, but this dive surpassed it! Even more crags and structures, and a lot more sealife than what we saw at Molikini - how weird! OK... maybe it was the finale.... the manta-ray that swept by us, came around, and circled us for a good 30 secs with a show of grace and splendour. Our Best. Dive. Ever. And I'm sure we'll have many more Best Dives to come!!
So to any novice divers out there..... don't assume its all about the boat dives! You have to do Molikini.... but do not skip the shore dives. A contradiction - but you will see more on a shore dive!
And as you go through the dive selection process like I did.... add my positives to Shaka Divers for shore-based diving, and B&B for the boat dives.
As a vacation diver, I stuck with snorkelling for many years, and only 3 years ago took the plunge with a Discover Diving session in Perhentian, Malaysia; followed by a SCUBA certification in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. My last dives were in Oahu with Reef Pirates, in 2011. I dive with my son, who started at the same time with me, but got an OWD cert in the cold waters off Vancouver, BC.
We wanted to ease ourselves back into our first few dives - so chose to do shore dives with their gradual, controlled depths. Through this forum, we selected Shaka Divers. Our first dive was 5 Graves. What a shocker! It was fantastic! I never imagined a shore dive would provide such geographic diversity. And we saw the eels, were surrounded again and again by turtles, and warily eyed the 5 ft white-tips in the caves that Shaka Doug led us to. Our second dive that day was around the corner at Makena Landing. Almost as good, with the added benefit of easy access into and out of the water. In both locations, visibility was at least 50ft once we got out..... maybe it was more! But what I enjoyed most was hovering through and over the tall lava and reef structures, staying 30-40 ft down. Both dives went just over the hour each. Doug was a superb guide. He took his time to assimilate us into the surroundings, explain every step and action, and do this all with patience, no attitude, and with a fun-loving demeanour. He was in no rush to end his work day - guess he exudes the true Maui spirit.
Our next set of dives was the boat dives to Molikini. We selected B&B Scuba, again, through referrals and reviews on this forum and other sites. The 5.45am meeting time was not so bad, considering timezone differentials and we weren't quite on HST yet. The boat was full, and there were 4 B&B'ers leading us. The boat was divided into three groups, and we were placed, quite rightly, in the "novice" party - 4 in group. Everything was well organized and laid out in the boat. A constant 1-liner banter between the crew kept us all chuckling as we headed out. Seemed like my son and I were the only B&B 1st timers as everyone else were repeats or on multi-day trips. We did feel a little awkward being the outsiders - but that may also be because we were spoilt with the personal attention we got the previous day with Shaka Divers and Doug. Diving in for the first time at Reefs End, one is struck by the water clarity - so much so that I'm sure I had an attack of VERTIGO!! As we descended to 40 ft, it was hard to imagine one was underwater. It took me about 5 minutes to establish a controlled breathing pattern with these unique visual and mental experiences bombarding my senses. We glided around that depth for about 45 min. Where we were, it was geographically flat, with a rather featureless seabed. I was surprised at the lack of sealife. We did see a resident 4 ft barracuda, but that was about all. The visibility... possibly 150-200 ft (basically, think swimming pool) was the feature. Our ascent involved a 3min. rest stop at 15ft. I know it may not be necessary for the depth/time we were at.... but good on you B&B for these best practices!! The second dive was off the coast near Makena Bay. I didn't catch exactly where. Visibility was not as good as the shore dives of the previous day - or maybe I was spoilt with 150-200ft !! The dive was unexceptional, but a decent one nonetheless, to wind off the session. B&B provided comfort snacks, drinks, and we sped back to the Kihei Landing. We were back by 9.30am ! Wow!
Day Three. We had considered our previous dives, and agreed that it was the shore dives that provided the most diverse experiences. We hadn't expected that. So it was back to Shaka Divers - and hurrah - Doug was able to take us on. This time it was to "White Rock". Easy, sandy access as we slipped under water amongst the swimmers and followed Doug out. I thought 5 Graves was great, but this dive surpassed it! Even more crags and structures, and a lot more sealife than what we saw at Molikini - how weird! OK... maybe it was the finale.... the manta-ray that swept by us, came around, and circled us for a good 30 secs with a show of grace and splendour. Our Best. Dive. Ever. And I'm sure we'll have many more Best Dives to come!!
So to any novice divers out there..... don't assume its all about the boat dives! You have to do Molikini.... but do not skip the shore dives. A contradiction - but you will see more on a shore dive!
And as you go through the dive selection process like I did.... add my positives to Shaka Divers for shore-based diving, and B&B for the boat dives.
